


REMIX

by TheGreatandPowerless



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crystal Gems, Friendship, Interplanetary Travel, Other, polymorphic sentient space rocks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-03-22 23:59:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 11,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3748021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatandPowerless/pseuds/TheGreatandPowerless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot has gone into hiding since abandoning her pod, and finds herself in the hands of Greg Universe. Confused by his human interests and unusual welcoming personality, Peridot finds herself opening up to the human - and the idea of being a Crystal Gem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shooting Star

Stumbling into the dark of an unfamiliar planet after what a human would classify as major head trauma was probably and unwise choice, but with her pod in disrepair and the thundering ringing in her ears, Peridot had little choice. She tried scanning, broadcasting, receiving, but was unable to reach Jasper. 

She closed her eyes, hoping to silence the incessant sound. 

Jasper might not have made it out of the ship. It was a very real possibility, but it was equally possible that the Crystal Gems hadn’t made it out either. There was no real way for her to be certain without getting to higher ground. 

Strange tall plants grew around the perimeter of the crater, and the earth’s moon offered enough light that she could distinguish a road.

Every inch of her ached as she made her way onto the flattened earth. The pain wasn’t enough to force regeneration, but it was greater than the headaches Jasper usually inflicted. She berated herself for feeling thankful that she wasn’t present – Jasper might have been… Jasper, but she was also one of her greatest hopes for getting off this planet. She knew the Crystal Gems were strong when they arrived in the first place but their confrontation on the ship showed her that the years they’d been dormant had only given them more time to train and prepare. 

And they had Rose. 

The more she tried to concentrate on solutions and tactics the more her vision blurred. She had to at least make a decision on where to go. 

Her first option was Beach City. Home of the Crystal Gems. Home of Rose Quartz. Home of humans, perhaps. Getting closer to the gems meant they could easily find her. It also meant that she’d be able to easily watch them. Being a hostage would even be beneficial if it granted her the chance to watch them and research their behaviors. She would be able to discover their weakest link, she’d be able to take them down from the inside. If Rose’s techniques – if Steven’s techniques – had not changed, she was likely to be left alive for at least long enough to try to pitch them against each other. She had known the one gem came from a Kindergarten; surely it’d be easy enough to turn Earth’s protectors against the reminder of the Homeworld causes. 

The second option was... Well she wasn’t sure what it was. What compromised the rest of the planet? She’d watched it from windows while aboard The Left Hand, and had seen what it looked like geographically, but she knew little about what to do with that knowledge. She had no maps, no pod to transport herself, and while it’d be easy enough to shape shift into something that could help her escape she had no stamina to do so. 

But resting here wasn’t an option. The longer she remained in one place, out in the open, the more likely it was that the Crystal Gems would come looking for her and find her. They had known she escaped; there was no way they wouldn’t come looking for her. 

Alone on this strange planet, knowing they were hunting her, made her ill. Thankfully her legs had been carrying her without much concern for her thoughts or health and she’d already made her way past the sign announcing her presence in Beach City. 

Keeping her best interests in mind, she shaped herself like the nearest Earth creature, hoping to blend in enough that a human would leave her be if they spotted her. The creatures were small, and rather round. Their legs were short and sharp and clawed, and their mouths were like arrows. She struggled to move her feet as she normally would but found that mimicking the creature’s hopping was much easier. 

She found herself struggling more as the small creature than she had in her chosen form, but knew it wasn’t worth being encountered by a human. They were weak and primitive but if the Gems were truly protectors of this planet, even allowing one human to spot her would have been too much of a risk. 

Small rectangular buildings, all nearly identical in shape and proportion, lined the sides of the street. Each had windows and while some were dark, others were light. The humans almost lived their lives as though the battle hadn’t happened. How long had it been? How long had she been in her pod without waking? The very thought exhausted her further.

The hill sloped, making descending even more challenging. She gladly would have rolled herself down the hill despite how foolish it sounded and likely painful it would have been. When she finally found herself a dark place to rest, she couldn’t have expressed her gratitude.

The earth language was more complicated, at least visually, than the language of Homeworld. Instead of being composed primarily of circles, the symbols appeared to be complete nonsense and every sign she looked to made them appear completely different. If humans spent less time developing different ways to write their language and more time on weapons, they wouldn’t have even needed the crystal gems. 

An unusual creature carried the letters on its side as it sprayed water onto its back. It was brightly colored and did little to lessen her headache. 

She looked down a narrow passage that only led back outdoors. It literally went nowhere, but had unusual devices and tools all along the walls. She would have pegged it for a torture device and it appeared to be moist from a fresh cleansing. Perhaps she had been wrong to count humans out of the weapons game so quickly. 

No lights were on inside the facility, but the door pushed open rather easily. The dark, cool quiet was exactly what the shipwrecked gem needed. She found a desk, made not of light but of a solid wood, to rest under, thankful to think she might prolong her encounter with the gems for a while longer. 

She closed her eyes, thinking of the things she’d have to do once night fell again and she was able to move unseen through the city. She thought of Jasper, who no doubt would be furious when they met again – be it for her lack of communication or her immediate decision to hide. She thought of the blue gem they’d taken, and wondered if she sank with the ship. But she thought almost entirely of the Crystal Gems, and of the mercy they would not be shown when Homeworld heard of Rose Quartz’s return.


	2. Coward of the County

Day came without warning and Peridot was jarred from her meditation when the door opened and was accompanied with a soft bell ringing. She had thought if humans occupied this building, they would have been present during the night as well as the day. She had been wrong.

She made herself smaller, now less achey and angry that she’d had time to herself.

  
Two large, sunburnt feet made their way across the floor, crossing through her line of sight. A voice accompanied them – singing. It was unlike the songs of Homeworld which frequently talked of won battles and courageous warriors and were typically only performed by the most skilled at special events. It was soft and melodious, but bold and far from cautious. 

But humans infrequently showed caution to the world around them.

With two small hops, she put herself where she could see the human. They were tall, _incredibly_ so from where she sat. Their hair compromised almost the entire length of his body, and their headset appeared to be transmitting the music through a small box. They appeared no threat but Peridot couldn’t risk discovery, and stayed hidden.

Keeping out of sight, she found herself unable to distinguish what they were doing while they walked around the small room. There was the sound of shuffling papers, the soft hum of power, and light bouncing from all over the room. 

Peridot scolded herself for her fear. This human, no muscle, no weapons, not even aware of her presence, was a threat larger than she’d encountered in sometime. Not larger than the discovery of gems on Earth, but they could easily become dangerous. If the human even caught a glimpse of her, she’d immediately end up in the hands of the Crystal Gems. Without more information, she couldn’t take that risk. Certainly not without knowing Jasper’s status. 

She considered trying to send her superior another transmission – but if she responded she’d be outed and she’d be, once again, in danger. The gem scolded herself for going inside. She had efficiently trapped herself. If she had just stayed at her pod, or headed away from the city, maybe if she even headed straight to the temple to try to take the Crystal Gems by surprise - she could have done something. She could have done something instead of just hiding. Cowards hid.

Peridot overlooked calling herself a coward. 

Doing her best to take advantage of the situation, she watched the human. There was potential that he knew the Crystal Gems – surely, all humans on Earth were aware of their presence and paid tribute or spoke of them! It’d be foolish of them to have remain hidden from Homeworld _and_ from Earth. 

But the human never spoke of them. 

They sang, exuberant and full of energy as a warrior fresh from a victory might have. She wondered if Earth’s songs of triumph might have been more subtle – or, she would have continued to had the human not spent several minutes insisting that (somehow) “We Are the Champions.” 

She found herself listening intently and hoping to learn something useful of their culture, but it seemed humans used almost anything as an excuse to write a song: the start of a romantic pursuit, the end of a romantic pursuit, death, festival celebrations, even certain forms of physical contact. She found herself rolling her eyes more than she did around Jasper, which would have been noted as a lot if the action hadn’t always gone unnoticed by Jasper. 

Eventually the songs stopped and the human sat at the desk. It took obscene amounts of restraint for her to not audibly gag with his feet so close, especially in open shoes. But another human arrived and the two conversed. 

Not a human.

Rose. 

“Hey Dad,” She heard the voice from the doorway – the Steven? – and adjusted herself to look through the small gap between the desk and the floor. The young Crystal Gem looked unharmed. How could they have possibly eluded Jasper without a scratch? Granted, they had taken her down, but- 

“Hey Kiddo,” Dad responded. “Whatcha need?” The ‘Dad’ human rose and crossed the room, hugging Steven. Peridot considered exposing herself – Rose wasn’t Rose, or at least didn’t act like Rose. Rose wouldn’t have revealed herself like Steven had, would she? It made no sense, with no army and no strength in her current form, it wouldn’t make sense for a battle-hardened gem to do something so foolish. 

If Rose Quartz was foolish enough to do that, certainly they wouldn’t be smart enough to outwit Peridot. 

But before she could bring herself to do anything, the two vanished out the door. She cursed her inability to act without direction but politely reminded herself that it was far better to waste time planning ahead than it was to charge into battle without a plan.

She would wait as long as it took to make sure that Rose Quartz did not prevail again.


	3. Angel and the Badman

Night had fallen before the human returned – this time without Steven. He smelled unpleasant and looked as though he were about to faint. Peridot had spent the day accessing what little data she could from her communicator. They had very little information about Earth culture but she at least had a better understanding of their anatomy and needs. Food, water, a form of regeneration they called sleep – they were a species more complex than she’d given credit. None of the weapons listed in their archive seemed as though they would be a problem but it was apparent that Earth had gone unchecked since the Crystal Gems defended it in the first place. 

The archive had no mention of the neon colored creatures that labeled the building, or the script that decorated every building in the surrounding area. She’d have to do her own reconnaissance for accurate information.

In retrospect, she wished that she tried to take more from the ship.

The Right Hand was still in the sky; surely, they’d notice that her communicator was active and would send back-up. They knew the humans had Rose Quartz, they had made certain to correspond that to them. 

Certainly they’d come for her.

They couldn’t just leave her behind. 

The human took his seat at the desk again, feet coming closer than she would have liked. Peridot needed a plan. She could easily take this ‘Dad’ human hostage. It’d get the attention of Steven… Rose… It would get the attention of the Crystal Gems. If they continued to value human life as they once had, they wouldn’t risk his life. He’d be the perfect bait to draw them out. 

He carried no weapons; he’d be the perfect target! While large in form he was smaller than Jasper and would likely surrender without any aggression. The more Peridot thought about trying to subdue the human, the more nervous she felt. 

She wasn’t exactly a gem that spent a lot of time on the front lines, or even a gem who was present for a lot of invasions. She’d only come to Earth in the first place to check the clusters. Well, that and to prove to Jasper that she was capable of operating away from a heavily guarded base. 

Perhaps Jasper hadn’t been all that wrong to doubt her.

Gathering the best of her strength, or the best of it that she could find, Peridot slid herself out from under the desk through the gap she’d seen Steven through. Once she shifted back to her preferred form and her normal size, the human would not be able to avoid her. She’d also be between him and the door, which would hopefully deter him from immediately trying to escape. 

She gave a last glance to her communicator, silently hoping that reinforcements might signal her in time to stop her from acting. 

They didn’t. 

With a singular breath, Peridot began to change. A pale green light filled the room and the human stopped his consumption of a small circular treat. His eyes grew wide as she took shape but no panic showed in his eyes. He was curious? Confused? Peridot couldn’t read his expression.

“Earth human,” she began, folding her arms behind her back, more used to communicating with prisoners than she was hoping to let on. “I am an envoy of the Diamond Authority and-“

“Another Gem?!” The human threw his hands onto the table, rising with eyes aglow. He was excited. “I can’t believe it!” He hesitated, pointing the broken snack ring at her. “The Gems were telling me that there were others on the planet, at least Steven did, but he said you were all corrupted.”

“ _Corrupted gems on Earth?!_ ” Peridot couldn’t believe what she was hearing. No one had mentioned corrupted gems! None of the reports made any mention that gems could even become corrupted under Earth’s planetary conditions. 

The human kept speaking but it was a dull, inaudible humming. 

Choosing this particular human might have been more beneficial than she thought.


	4. Ramblin' Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapters have been so short thusfar.

Peridot listened for sometime, surprised at the wealth of information the human had. At least, she listened until he stopped and suddenly began eyeing her suspiciously.

"You know, uh, I never caught your name." She refused to tense or show him weakness. She couldn't let him think that she was an enemy of the crystal gems. Luckily her tie on Homeworld left her well equipped with an alias.

"Idocrase," She said evenly. She had briefly known an Idocrase, and found that when the two were in the same areas they were frequently mistaken for each other. They were similar enough that if the human knew anything of Earth geology he would believe they could be the same stone. 

He relaxed in his seat, smiling.

"Universe. Mr. Universe. Or it used to be, anyway. It's Greg now."

"I thought your name was 'Dad.'" Peridot arched an eyebrow. She didn't take kindly to being deceived. But the uproar of laughter from Greg would suggest that there had been a misunderstanding.

"No, no, I'm _Steven's_ dad."

She realized it would have been easier to not say anything.

"Yes, Steven... Calls you 'dad.' I've heard him say that before. common for gems to deviate from their names, let alone have more than one." She mumbled to herself that it was more likely that dad was a title seeing as how Greg spoke of it, and it likely made him a superior to Steven. 

It called into question where he ranked among the Crystal Gems. Likely between Pearl and the Earthen Amethyst. Pearl and Ruby and Sapphire had been present on Earth for too long to be beneath them in rank. They'd also been the ones to fight alongside Rose Quartz, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that she had given them superior ranks. 

Peridot considered asking questions about Steven. Being his... dad, Greg would surely be able to explain why Rose would regenerate in such a form. 

But why would Rose have lied to her about being human? Rose wouldn't have spoken to her in such a way. 

"You okay, Idocrase?" Peridot flinched, having been so deep in thought that she'd nearly forgotten Greg's presence.

"Yes, I was just considering something."

"So why are you here, instead of with the Crystal Gems? Do they know you'er here? Did they send you here? Is something happening again?"

She adjusted her visor. _Go to Earth, they said. Humans are easily manipulated and don't ask questions!_ She supposed she could have spent more time preparing for Greg's inquires. 

"Everything is perfectly fine. The Gems are unaware of my presence as of yet. I was made aware of the Homeworld attack because of a frequency I picked up-"

"-On a wailing stone?"

She hesitated. Greg knew a fair bit, it seemed. He knew about ancient gem technology. He probably knew about everything the Crystal Gems had! Weapons, stock piles, everything.

"Yes. From a blue gem. Warning of an invasion." She had known Lapis sent a message. She had to exploit that information. "When I heard, I decided to come out of hiding. I've been on Earth for a very long time. I thought it wasn't safe and kept to myself."

"Hm." She couldn't gauge if Greg believed her or not. Worse yet, she couldn't gauge if he would tell the Crystal Gems about her.

"I request that you keep my arrival between us. It's been a very long time since I've spoken to the Crystal Gems," She lied through her teeth, struggling to commit to a smile. "I want to make sure that when I reveal myself to them, it's on my own terms."


	5. Mother Rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delays in chapters. Thankfully, I just started a new job :) Unfortunately, this means less time to write and less time for updates. Thanks for your patience!

Peridot paced the small room. Greg's choice to agree to her terms was unusual and suspicious. She wasn't sure if she could trust him. He had some connection to Rose. Connection to Steven. Greg had a connection to the gem who was, at some point, Rose Quartz. Getting information could be easy, but if he spilled the secret of her presence as easily as he spilled the secrets of the Crystal Gems, she wouldn't be safe for long.

"Yeah, I get it." Greg said, leaning forward on his desk. "Sometimes you gotta get yourself together before you get the gang back together. The gems never mentioned you, Idocrase. But I imagine there's a lot of gems they haven't mentioned to me."

"I was not very involved with... the war. Not in the way that I probably should have been. It's the past. I can make amends for it later. For now, I'm going to require this shelter as my own. You will not be able to disturb me, and I'm going to cover these windows. I don't want the Gems to see me before I'm ready."

"Gotta change it up, huh?" Greg laughed. Humans were gullible, it seemed. His demeanor had definitely effected Rose. Steven. Whatever. The General of the Crystal Gems was no who she had once been and Peridot was more than willing to wager that it had a fair bit to do with the humans of Earth. Rose had been an incredible warrior, taking down Gems by the score.

Then again, Steven had managed to escape from their prison unassisted. She couldn't count him.

"...yes. I might choose to change form before I meet them again. Make all old things new."

"Yeah, everyone needs a remake once and while." 

Greg's compassion seemed unsettling. The longer Peridot found herself speaking to him, the more she started to believe that the Gems could hear them. The thought that the Gems knew of her hiding place and could move into formation terrified her. 

Good thing she'd never acknowledge her own cowardice. 

"So tell me, Greg." The name fell awkwardly on her tongue. Human naming patterns seemed meaningless. "You are Steven's... Dad? What does that _mean_?" She drummed her fingers against her chin, curious to the meaning of their relationship.

"Oh, right." Greg chucked. "See, uh... Oh man. This is definitely not a talk I was prepared to give to a Gem again. Well, uh, humans... share genetic material to reproduce, and Steven in composed partially of my genetic material, and of Rose's gem."

The gem felt her heart stop.

" _Rose's gem?_ "

Greg sounded wistful, forlorn but mystified. "Rose gave up her physical form for Steven. So he could have her gem and be born. He's a lot like her, but he's like me too. He's a lot like me."

Peridot couldn't _believe_ what she was hearing. Rose Quartz wasn't a threat anymore.

But now, Steven Universe was.


	6. The Times, They Are a Changin'

Peridot had fallen rather silent since Greg had revealed the truth about Steven. Rose's powers existed within him - the ability to command the cannons, her shield, her healing tears, the strength to carry her sword - and it was only a matter of time before she discovered how strong the young gem truly was. 

Greg had also been incredibly incredibly accommodating to the stranger which Peridot was unsure of. It seemed impossible that the human could truly be so welcoming and kind, especially one with ties to the Crystal Gems. With every passing moment, Peridot began to feel that she was pushing herself further and further into their trap. 

But what choice did she have?

At least if she backed herself into the trap, at least she might be able to gather information about their base. There might even be something in their temple that could allow communications back to the Right Hand. Apparently the blue gem they'd taken on board had been able to reach them with the use of a wailing stone, so there was no reason she wouldn't be able to do the same.

She just had to be patient. Just a little more patient.

As Greg put up the heavy curtains she requested, Peridot projected her plan onto the desk, moving around pieces of her schedule and arranging her recently acquired information. She could feel Greg watching her work.

"Do you have a _question_ Greg?" He almost reminded her of Jasper. At least in their apparent shared ignorance of technology.

"That looks pretty amazing." She was thankful their written languages differed so dramatically. "You gems have some crazy stuff. That Wailing Stone, that old warp thing, the bubble stuff..." He placed the metal curtain rod against the wall as he approached the desk, obviously curious.

Remembering that she had to at least be a _little_ personable t keep away suspicion, Peridot allowed him to observe the projection.

"So, Idocrase, what's all this, exactly?" Greg gestured to the entire tabletop.

"It's a to-do list. I intend on doing a lot of things before I re-encounter the Crystal Gems. This is my list of what I plan on accomplishing before then."

Greg seemed to accept that enough as an answer, lips to one side as he nodded understandingly. On his way back to the curtian rod, he hit a small button on a pill-shaped device, filling the room with music. 

The music of Earth was different than that of Homeworld. 

Peridot found that she almost enjoyed it.

"So what is... all this, Greg?" She mimicked his gesture at the pill-shaped device. "What kind of wailing stone receives these broadcasts?"

"Actually you're not too wrong about that. It's just a radio." Perdiot nodded understandingly. It was a bit cumbersome and looked ridiculous, but humans worked with primitive technology. All things considered, it was impressive. "Another dude has his own place where he chooses all the songs, and all over Beach City, you can hear it if you have a radio."

"It's a public broadcast frequency." Peridot added.

"Right!" Greg grinned, sliding the curtains onto the rod. "The other Gems don't care much for Earth music. Rose kind of did, but she liked a very particular style of sound."

"This sounds... nice." She adjusted her vernacular to what she had heard Greg say previously. It wasn't terrible music. It was sad and melodious but kind and knowing. "Most Gem songs are warsongs. We sing very little for pleasure."

"Some humans are the same way. Just depends on what you feel like singing about. Or what you feel when you're writing. Everyone's different."

"... who is the human singing this?" She prodded, fingers resting on a single column of data.

"That's actually two humans. That's Grindle and Simpson. They're classic."

"I like it."


	7. My Little Town

By the time that Greg was finished with the set-up of Peridot's mediocre but usable base, it would have been passable for a shelter. The curtains kept out the view of overly curious humans, a temporary cot had been composed of Greg's desk overturned, and numerous garments. Peridot had insisted she didn't need one, but Greg reassured her that she'd be better off with it than without it. 

Greg sat in the desk chair, watching as Periot worked against a wall, trying to cement some semblance of a plan for the Crystal Gems. What was going to be her choice? Surrender? Trying to overtake them? Would she be able to communicate and reconnect with Jasper? What of the blue gem, Lapis? Had Lapis joined the Crystal Gems in the battle against Homeworld? Would Lapis think that Peridot's complacence and loyalty to Homeworld was an attack? Would she tell the Crystal Gems of her lack of hospitality, despite that she had been a prisoner? If she decided to surrender, would the Crystal Gems even show her mercy? If the young Steven was in charge, he would certainly give her a chance. He gave one to that Lapis and even gave her an escape to Homeworld. 

She couldn't exactly ask Greg who was in charge either. She removed her visor, adjusting her eyes to the light of the room or lack there of. The music still lingered in the air, a little louder than previous since Peridot had taken to silence and listening to it. Music was an important part of human culture, she knew, as it was in every culture. If she wanted to learn about humanity, she'd have to be prepared to listen to their legends. It would show her their values, their thoughts, their customs.

Greg seemed perfectly content to bask in the lull of sound but the occasional _swoop_ or _ting_ of her data sheets seemed to draw his attention. She wished it didn't, since instinct told her to apologize for drawing his attention as Jasper would have wanted. Jasper hated those sounds. Jasper hated most sounds. Jasper hated music. And most sounds that Gems drew for their technology came from song. She wondered if that was the case for humans as well.

"Do humans use music in their sciences, Greg?" She asked, fingers lingering on a small paragraph she'd composed of her surrender soliloquy. 

"I thought that sounded like music." Greg leaned forward, as if by instinct, but resting his elbows on his knees as he realized the desk no longer served the purpose he desired. "But yeah. Some scientists think music makes plants grow, there's music to help people sleep, to help people dream, to help people feel... We use it on our radios and phones when we communicate. Some people even have songs they associate with other people exclusively. Like uh, couples. Couples have songs. Sometimes people have their own songs."

"People have entire songs dedicated to them?"

"Well, uh, yeah, some of them. But that's not what I mean. If you uh, really like a song, sometimes you'll hear and it be like 'hey, it's my song!' so in that sense, I guess everyone has songs. I have a few, but I wrote most of them. It's a lot more personal." 

"Do your people have songs about Rose Quartz?"

Greg seemed sullen. "Most people don't know Rose. I wish they had. Heck, I bet she would have liked to know them more. The war was so long ago, a lot of people don't even know it happened. A lot of people don't even know about the Crystal Gems."

"People don't know the Crystal Gems?!" Peridot couldn't believe what she was hearing. "The Crystal Gems have been protecting _this planet_ for thousands of years! Rose Quartz, with an army the size of a single Homeworld Battalion, put an end to a war, and saved a planet from destruction, and there aren't even _songs?_ " 

Even Homeworld had songs about Rose Quartz - _The Starry Scabbard, The Diamond Star, Earthbound Rose, Fires of Flora, The Strawberry Slaughter_ \- none were in a positive light on Rose's part, but even modern Homeworld Generals talked of her tactics and powers and strengths and praised her. Rose Quartz's techniques changed the game. Technology changed to combat her, and Steven's shield, thousands of years later, still stopped an attack that would have blown away the entire city.

Greg, still crestfallen and thoughtful, smiled wistfully.

"Well, there are songs, it's just that humanity doesn't know all of them."

"How could they not know them?"

"Well no one's ever really heard them. I stopped touring after I met her."


	8. Coming From the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bonus chapter for today, since there was a new episode :)

Peridot supposed she wasn't _that_ surprised that Greg had written songs about Rose Quartz. It only made sense - he had been a witness to her, possibly even to her violence. He had... somehow created a half-human/half-gem offspring. She couldn't believe she was asking:

"Could I hear it, Greg?" 

Greg seemed surprised that the gem even asked. "Well, uh, sure Idocrase. I'm a bit rusty but you knew her too, and the Gems have all heard it. Heck, I haven't had an audience besides Steven in a while."

Before she could object to any sort of fanfare, Greg was opening what she rationalized was a small computer, using it to light the room with a pale pink light. He grabbed an instrument - not one they had on Homeworld - and strummed his fingers over several metal strings that sung with each point of contact.

When he concluded, after embarrassingly forgetting words to his own ballad and restarting, Peridot found herself confused. The song didn't actually mention Rose, or who she was, but referred to her as a formless and identity-less entity. 

The human laughed. "It's okay, hold your applause, don't need you throwing out your..."

Both of them looked at Peridot's disembodied fingers.

"...Nevermind. Sorry, I didn't think your music on your home planet might sound different. Rose never really played anything for me. I always sort of assumed they sounded similar, since she had such a particular taste. Was it uh, okay?"

"It was... vague." Peridot replied, drumming her fingers on her knee. "And I misunderstand what a van is. I'm going to assume it's a ship or a vessel, since you steer it. That having been said..." She looked up, considering the second youngest Universe she'd ever seen. "I'm unsure that even Rose would survive a van being driven through her heart."

Greg looked a bit perturbed before bursting into the same uproarious laughter she'd been slowly growing accustomed to. He ended up hunched almost entirely over the instrument, gasping for breath.

"It's a metaphor, human music is mostly about, ha, subtly."

"I see." She pursed her lips, feeling her face burn. It wasn't as though Gems didn't have their own phrases to turn and figures of speech, but they at least made _sense_. Powerful warrior or not, she couldn't think of many who could have a ship driven through the heart of their gem. It'd be a death sentence. And Greg meant it _affectionately_. "Do humans frequently go to space to escape each other?"

"Well astronauts will tell you they do it for science but," Greg put his instrument aside. "I think we all wanna get away from here sometime. A lot of people think we came from space in the first place."

"Humans are indigenous life to this planet, as long as Homeworld has known of it."

Greg almost seemed disappointed. "Well, good to know at least. Enough about Earth for a little bit, huh Idocrase? Why don't you sing me one of your Homeworld songs?"

Peridot shifted where she stood. "I find that rather... unwise, Greg. I don't think the songs of my people would-"

"Oh come on, how bad could they be? And don't worry about being a bad singer, that doesn't matter as much in folk music. Emotions and story are what matter. Don't let that stand in your way."

While reassuring, she still wasn't sure.

"I'm not sure any of the songs I know would be.... appropriate."

"It doesn't have to be about Rose," he offered. "I know your planet didn't smile on her after the rebellion and everything. But come on, you've gotta have some kind of warsong you can share. Some old folk legend?"

"...There's Diamond, the Uncut. It's one most of our... early grown gems know."

Greg gave a soft roll of his wrist to encourage her.

She couldn't _believe_ she was doing this.


	9. Diamond, The Uncut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Free Comic Book Day! I hope you all had a great day, and enjoy this little bonus of the words to Peridot's Homeworld folk song, DIamond the Uncut.

_"For only ten thousand years she sat upon her throne of stone_  
With narrow eyes and thin pale bones  
And a gem that granted us all light.  
For every battle she had won, an empire had been undone  
And their ranks had joined our own  
After losing the fight. 

_Diamond, the Uncut,_  
Bold and sharp and true  
Diamond, the Uncut,  
Queen of all that we knew.  
May her gemstone still stand  
And light up this land  
Until all of time is through. 

_They took to her palace with anger and malice_  
The day she said she would leave.  
They pulled at her robes and tugged at her hair,  
The blood she spilled and lives she saved meant nothing to the ill and depraved  
But Diamond was cruel and relentless,  
She cut the chandelier to the floor. 

_When they pulled all the gems from the wreckage,_  
Not one was found unharmed  
All but one, who sparkled, untouched,  
And lit up the sky like a star. 

_Diamond, the Uncut,_  
Bold and sharp and true  
Diamond, the Uncut,  
Queen of all that we knew.  
May her gemstone still stand  
And light up this land  
Until all of time is through." 


	10. The Sounds of Silence

Peridot felt knots in her stomach, which she hadn't be aware was even possible given that their bodies were facades. Why did she feel so anxious? This human meant nothing to her, knew nothing of who she was, had _no right_ to their culture! Why would she have sung to him?! Immediately she felt hot with shame, hot with _anger_. What had she been thinking?!

But when she lifted her gaze to look at the human, she knew precisely what she'd been thinking.

She'd been thinking, for once, that someone wanted to hear her.

"I wasn't aware gems could die." Greg said softly, as though he wasn't sure how else to address the song. Peridot had been in a similar position emotionally on minutes before. "I mean, I kind of knew that they could, but it's weird to know. And I thought diamonds were so strong that nothing at all could cut them. Besides like, lasers."

"Perhaps with your Earth diamonds, that's the case. Diamonds might be strong but they aren't invincible. But Diamond was _powerful_. Many believe she still walks the catacombs beneath the palace in the capitol." _Why am I telling him this?_ She scolded herself. Jasper would have been furious that she even mentioned Diamond, legend or not, especially when she was essentially a captive. 

She watched silently as Greg rose, knowing he was still deep in thought. 

"I uh, I appreciate hearing it, Idocrase. I'm just a little worn out after putting up the blinds and everything. Besides, uh, gotta be ready in case any customers come by."

And without another word, Greg vanished out the door into the blistering sunlight. 

Peridot sat alone in the comparative darkness, holding her head in her fingers.

She'd been too trusting.

She'd said too much.

She couldn't expect Greg to keep her a secret now. 

Should she come clean? Should she finally lock him away? Should she try to communicate with the Right Hand? She felt exhausted. She could feel her flesh taught over her ribs when she inhaled. She just wanted to retreat into her gem, just hide under something, just avoid this whole damned hunk of rock. 

She almost missed Jasper's incessant yelling.


	11. Green Tambourine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about my recent delays. My new job is really physically demanding and I find myself exhausted after work.

Days passed and for once Peridot was thankful for the solitude. Greg had kept his distance after she sang to him, for one reason or another. She'd had enough time to overcome her stress, set up communication channels with the Right Hand, and was ready to summon Homeworld gems as soon as Earth's great defenders showed up at the little glass door. 

She had known better than to trust Greg Universe. She had known better than to trust any human. The folly was he'rs and her's alone and she was prepared to accept her punishment from her superiors. But, she wasn't worried about that. Once she summoned the forces to Earth and made it look as though _she_ had orchestrated their capture and defeat they'd surely give her sentence some leeway. She had a hunch it'd be even easier without Jasper around. They might even actually here her speak without Jasper in the way. 

It had been their idea to send her to Earth in the first place. They'd easily overlook her mistakes.

Of course, it mean Greg had to be taken care off.

She hadn't figured that out yet. She almost felt... guilty about the idea of killing him.

Greg had done nothing wrong, had he? He thoughtlessly offered her shelter, believed her lies, in a matter of speaking kept her safe. He had been a gateway to Earth culture. He was her link the the Crystal Gems. If she was ready, she could use Greg to play them right into her trap. Greg had given her a wealth of information about Steven, even going so far as to tell her he was half-human, which explained his escape from their holding cells. 

Of course, there was always the potential of just leaving Greg alive. He'd never forgive her, he'd live the rest of his life with anger and resentment towards himself _and_ her and... well, is that really how she wanted to leave him behind? Given that option, maybe he was better off dead. 

And for some reason a part of her didn't want that.

She just found herself continuing to stare at the singular button it would take to send her signal. She had good reason to believe that it'd be strong enough for the Right Hand to receive, and for them to maintain communications. For some reason, she just couldn't touch the button.

She'd give herself a few more days, she was sure that it'd be easier for her to do it then.

As she minimized her projection, she heard the soft chiming of the bell attached to the door. 

"Hey," She wasn't surprised to see that it was Greg. He held his guitar in one arm, and toted a small wagon of goods behind him. "Hope you've been doing okay, sorry it took me so long. I had to get all this stuff together."

As he pulled the cart in, Peridot began to scan it. An audio amplifier, a menagerie of chords, a large series of buttons that alternated between black and white, a stretched skin surrounded by little metal disks...

"What is all this?"

"I'm glad you asked! Well, I kept thinking about the song you sang the other day-" She felt her stomach knot. "-And how you're a pretty great singer, and I thought that since you like some Earth music, we could work together to make something."

She couldn't decide how she felt about the prospect. "Is this common practice among you and the.. other gems?"

"Steven and I sing together all the time," he confessed as he tuned his guitar. "Pearl prefers to sing to the radio. Rose and I recorded a few duets once, and uh... Garnet and Amethyst aren't into that sort of thing. At least not with me. But _your_ voice. It's nuts. IT's like you swallowed a tiny computer!"

She felt the heat return to her cheeks.

"It's common for gems of my class and composition."

"No it's a good thing! Humans actually _like_ that sound! They use it all the time! Usually for remixes. Which is where they uh, take an existing song, and add a new bass line and usually a lot of synthesizer. Kids like it."

"So you want to do a remix of one of your songs."

"Well, we can do one of yours."


	12. Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for being so patient with me. My new job is exhausting and I end up being so tired on my days off that I can't take time to work on the story. I'll try to have some more substantial chapters for you soon!

"I think much of... my culture would go... unappreciated by humans." Peridot suggested, hoping that maybe Greg would drop the subject. The idea of _humans_ hearing those old warsongs, knowing it was her voice, knowing those stories - it all made her head spin. Greg was one thing, but the rest of the humans?

 _Why_ did she let herself think that Greg was different than the other humans? He couldn't be _that_ different! They were all primitive, they were all just waiting for their planet to die, they... 

They were _human_. That alone was reason enough not to trust them, not to give him all this information, not to share this with him not to...

But she wanted to. She wanted to more than she wanted anything. At least at the moment. The Crystal Gems didn't matter. The Right Hand didn't matter. This moment mattered. 

But it _shouldn't_ have mattered. She shouldn't have let herself get this attached to him. She knew he couldn't be spared. She'd already gone through that thought process in her time. There was no way out of this battle without betraying Greg or being betrayed by him. There was no way for her to walk away from this unscathed. That is, there was no way for Greg to walk away from this unscathed. 

Thankfully, Greg was less intrusive than Jasper if he noticed any change of emotion on her face, since he said nothing.

"Well, if you don't want to sing something you already know, that's okay Idocrase." Greg dug through the small wagon of equipment, pulling out two bright yellow memo pads. "We can write something new. I'm really good with space imagery, it's something I've worked with a lot, I'm sure that you're familiar with space yourself," He winked as he handed her the other memo pad. It nearly slipped between her fingers. "We'll come up with something great between the two of us."

"I've never written a song," Peridot replied hastily. Greg was already relaxing back into a folding chair he'd brought along.

"Hey, everyone starts somewhere. Don't let inexperience stand between you and telling a story."

She looked down at the bright yellow memo pad that was marked with thin blue lines. Yellow and Blue. Jasper and Lapis. The only gems she could count on to be on her side and she had no idea where they were, if they were even on Earth. The could have gone down with the ship. They could be on the Right Hand. They could be captives. She was certain that they could be anything except looking for her. She was certain that Jasper would sooner leave her behind than risk another battle trying to find her. 

"What am I supposed to write about?" She felt more venom in her voice than she'd meant to articulate. Greg looked concerned but glazed over the issue. Peridot was thankful for someone so flexible with her attitude. 

"Whatever you want. A feeling, a person, a place. Someones I write about my dreams, or the gems, or what I think it's like in space."

"You've never been to space?"

"Nah. I was never smart enough to be an astronaut and actually go see the real deal. Rose showed me places once, she had a magic room and showed me her favorite planets she'd seen. But I've never really been."

She looked down at the paper in front of her, running her finger in the space between two lines, thinking. 

"I know what to write about," she said softly, looking up in time to see Greg offering her a pen.


	13. Paperback Writer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of your kind words about my delays, and about how you like the story so far! :') I didn't expect this story to get much attention because of my weird... ship choice, but you've all been really great, and I'm so thankful for all the hits and kudos.

The soft scratch of her utensil on paper was a fine compliment to the sound of Greg's soft humming as he scribbled a melody onto a piece of paper. A song would be the perfect bridge between cultures- between her and Greg, between her and the crystal gems. Surely, after exposing such personal thoughts and emotions they wouldn't treat her as a criminal. After all, hadn't she just been following orders anyway?

She gently touched her gem as she considered words. She wanted to tell them something important. She wanted the words to resonate, like the warsongs and tales of Homeworld. She wanted the Crystal Gems to hear it and find themselves inspired or silenced or amazed at what she truly was. She had to appeal to their compassion, she had to try to show them that she could be on their side, even if it was only until the Right Hand showed up. 

Peridot still hadn't come to a conclusion about how she would handle Greg when the time came. Something would have to be done. Hopefully she'd be able to convince the Homeworld gems to show him mercy, or to leave him be. Maybe he'd see it in himself to forgive her after he saw into her a bit. But even if Homeworld spared him, with the Kindergarten reactivated... 

She tried to focus on her words.

Songs and the arts were usually reserved for a specific caste of gems, Peridot had hardly ever sung a song let alone ever tried to write one. Looking over the few lines she had, it sounded less like a song and more like the beginning of an analysis or one of her field reports. She couldn't imagine that words like this would sway anyone. The best she had was _The glow of Earth's bright sun enlightens those who could not see,_ which hardly seemed like anything she had heard in Greg's songs, or the ones he had played for her on his radio. 

But she looked up at Greg, who was happily working in his own world. He had one pencil in his mouth and another in his hand, his guitar against his leg and his paper resting against the top. From what she could see, there were marks all over the paper and it looked completely nonsensical. She couldn't believe she was agreeing with this. 

The gem lowered her eyes, trying to get back to the task at hand. She couldn't come to a conclusion about if she would be better off asking for help or not. Greg would certainly help her, but what good would it do to ask? She'd made the mistake of sounding confidant when she said she knew what she wanted to write about and while she did, she didn't realize it would be hard to tell a story with disconnected metaphors. Not to mention how unusual and dangerous most Earth metaphors sounded. 

She tapped the pencil on the edge of her lip, thankful that Greg had something to work on and wasn't paying her much mind. All the concepts and thoughts were there. She knew what she wanted the song to make them feel, she just had to figure out how to say it. She wanted them to know her true compassion, she wanted them to see what she wasn't just an extension of Jasper. That she wasn't a coward for fleeing the ship, or for leaving behind her commander, or for hiding from them and instead seeking refuge with a human. 

Making the mental list didn't do much to assuage her fears. 

She'd never felt so lost or confused when it came to such a simple task, not since she had been in her developmental training to work with the Kindergartens. Did Greg even know about the Kindergarten on Earth? He must have, the Crystal Gems had that Amethyst that came from a Kindergarten. And he knew about the Homeworld invasions, he had to. Peridot didn't imagine that with all the things Rose Quartz had apparently taught him she would have left out something so important. 

After all, that'd been what she'd protected Earth from. 

Rose Quartz gave up everything; her home, her family, her status, her armies... All for this hunk of rock covered in humans. A hunk of rock covered in people. A hunk of rock, covered in people like Greg Universe.

Peridot could see why she had done it.


	14. Lies, Lies, Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for being patient and encouraging! Work has just left me super tired and unfortunately it kept me from working. But, I only work a few days this week, and I hope that I might be able to award your patience with more chapters. We're quickly approaching a scene I've been dying to write, so I hope you all might enjoy that as much as I do, once it comes.

The words stung the back of her mind as she read the sheet over and over. There they were, formulated in the way that she thought would evoke the most feeling, arranged in ways that a human would hopefully view as poetic and meaningful, targeted directly at her enemies and the man who harbored her. All Peridot had to do now was to hand the small yellow pad of paper over to Greg Universe. After which, he'd read it and would likely start to mash it to the melody he'd formed. 

That's all she had to do. It was so simple. Yet still she sat with the pad in her own lap, listening to the soft lull of Greg's guitar.

With as little dexterity imaginable, Peridot tossed the pad to Greg, certain that if she had tried to hand it to him her fingers would have tightened and she would have never released the paper.

Greg laughed, sensing her nervousness. "It's okay Idocrase, I'm not gonna judge you for anything. I might judge those butterfingers though, I'll have to keep you away from the expensive equipment." He chuckled, strumming a few chords before falling into a melody. The sounds were strange but pleasant to Peridot, and in hearing him sing, singing with the same emotion he had about Rose Quartz, she felt compelled to reveal her identity. 

_"Stars fill the sky that Earth may never see  
And accompany those who cannot be free.  
The stars are cold but blue with fire   
and light my path with their mortal pyres._

_The great black void closes in,  
A reminder of our greatest sin -   
The voices of those we wronged  
brought together in sorrowful song._

_The air is cold and the void is great,  
filled with our old mistakes.  
Nothing will undo what was done  
with the warmth from another's sun._

_There were so many years I spent alone,  
too afraid to leave my throne  
or see the evils my deeds had wrought  
and once I did, I should have fought._

_But space is vast and cannot forgive  
The ones we lost and we let live.  
All the monsters that we had grown  
Were truly beasts, we should have know. _

_The air is cold and the void is great,  
filled with our old mistakes.  
Nothing will undo what was done  
with the warmth from another's sun."_

 

Peridot listened as each word tumbled from Greg's lips. when he finally finished, he seemed humbled by the words. She had achieved the desired response, she thought. She could see the thoughts rushing through his head as he tried to consider what to say. Was the song too sad? Perhaps he thought of it more like a requiem than a peace-offering-slash-apology. 

Her voice cracked as she spoke.

"Peridot." She said. "My name is Peridot."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took an hour to write, I thought it'd take an hour to read!


	15. Truth Be Told

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the jury is out! Thanks to the events of a recent episode, this might have been officially debunked, but I'm pretty sure we all knew it wasn't the case anyway. ;D Thusly, my ending will be adjusted ever so slightly to allow for some sort of lead into the new episode, if possible.

The silence hung in the air for what felt like centuries. Peridot wasn't sure how Greg was going to react. It could be so simple for Greg to just go off and tell the gems it was her. He knew who she was. Steven didn't seem to keep secrets from Greg, and now she was finding herself with a similar problem. She could feel the tightness returning to her chest, and a stirring in the back of her throat. She felt _sick_.

".... Peridot." He didn't sound angry. "You're the gem Steven talked about. You were on that ship that almost took him away." Peridot had never heard such a myriad of emotions in voice. "You were one of the gems who wanted to destroy the planet."

Peridot couldn't argue against any of it. She had. Part of her still did. She had a duty to do. She had a Kindergarten to reactivate. She had things to do here. Things that were going to ruin life on Earth for Greg and Steven and the Crystal Gems and all the other humans. 

She didn't say that.

Greg ran his hands through his hair as she sat, powerless, and watched. She twirled her cylindrical fingers between each other and waited in silence, knowing that it'd be a difficult thing for Greg to have to confront after welcoming her into his home, playing her his music, writing a song with her, offering refuge, and... well, _she'd_ say they'd become friends. 

"You lied. You flat-out lied to me. You gave me a fake name and I-I trusted you! You're just here to hurt Steven and the Gems and I've just had you hiding here, and you've..." He didn't sound angry at all. He was upset, he was betrayed, but Peridot wished he was angry. Anger was easy for her to cope with. Jasper had always been angry. The Diamonds had always been angry. She would have traded her fingers for anger. 

"I did." was all she could muster in response. She couldn't even look at him. Why did she think, for even a second that telling him the truth was a good idea? Telling the truth was never a good idea! Lie about the numbers, lie about the distance, lie about the mission, just keeping lying and you'd stay safe - that's what she'd always done, just cut corners and fudged the truth enough to keep herself out of hot water. And now...

And now she'd fallen face first into the boiler. 

Greg stood to leave, Peridot assumed, but surprisingly only crossed the few feet of space to firmly grab her shoulders. The force was enough to make Peridot look up; she didn't think that Greg would hurt her, but she was surprised by his strength given his physique and humanity. Their eyes met, Greg's hard and cold, all emotions locked away, while Peridot's were empty and waiting. She knew his betrayal was inevitable - not that his alliances ever really were hers. 

"Tell me what you're going to do." He said sternly. There was still pain in his voice, but Greg masked it expertly with a firm harshness. Peridot wasn't sure what to do him, so she did the least sensible thing she could imagine.

She told the truth.

"I don't know." She said softly. Greg's grip loosened a bit before he let go. He crossed his arms over his chest but he made no effort to move.

"You're going to go the gems. If you don't, regardless, I'm going to tell them you were here. I'm going to tell them that I saw you working on something even though I don't know what it is. If you can't be expected to tell the truth just know that I can and I'm going to. Do you understand, Peridot?"

She was surprised that despite all she had let him believe that he was still honest with her.

"Can I expect you to tell them the truth?"

"No." She said solemnly. She still had a duty. Six gems didn't stand a change against Homeworld. Joining them would mean her death and would likely spare no one.

"Fine. I'm going to tell them everything, which includes the truth about you, Peridot." Greg looked as though he wanted to smile, but he knew he shouldn't. "I'm going to tell them you were here. I'm going to tell them you liked Earth music. I'm going to tell them that you liked the song about Rose. I'm going to tell them you sang to me. I'm going to tell them you wrote this song. I'm even going to show them that."

" _Why?_ " Peridot felt emotionally exhausted.

"Because I think Steven might have been right about you. You changed your mind once you saw Earth. Just like Rose did."

Peridot felt odd, and saw pale green light on Greg's face before she realize that she was glowing.


	16. Face the Facts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for your patience. As you can imagine, Steven Bomb threw me off a little bit, so I'm going to adjust the ending a little bit to make it a little more open-ended to fit it into the series better.

"Peridot?" 

Her head was spinning. She shoved past Greg, more forceful than she needed to be, slamming her shoulder against the door which easily gave way and spilled her out onto the street. She struggled to adjust her eyes, to get her bearings, staggering a circle as she tried to find an escape route. Her legs carried her to Greg's vehicle and she threw herself into the back, slamming the doors shut behind her. She pressed her back to the doors, cradling her gem between her hands and swearing under her breath.

They hadn't even _danced_ , and even if she had, surely her body knew that they wouldn't fuse. Her mind understood that, surely her body could as well. It was foolish. Fusion was a burden on society. It wasn't acceptable, least of all with a human, with the _enemy_. She could hear Jasper's condescending laughter rattling in her ears. It was the same laugh she had heard when she asked for help. The same laugh when she said she could have handled Earth herself. The same laugh when she said that Lapis Lazuli couldn't be trusted. Somewhere out in the darkness, under Earth's pale sky and brightly burning star, Jasper was still laughing at her. 

But Greg wasn't when he opened the doors to the van. Peridot had forgotten about the doors at her back and would have fallen from the van if Greg hadn't caught her. His kindness wasn't helping her in the least. Maybe Jasper had been right to laugh.

"Peridot, listen-"

"Greg Universe, I have no _reason_ to listen to you." The words spilled out, venomous and angry. The glow of her gem escaped from between her fingers and shot streams of green against his soft but unchanging expression. "I-I am a representative of the Diamond Authority, under the first order of Jasper, come to this Earth to colonize for Gems, and I will _not_ allow you to stand in my way! I will return to the Kindergarten, finish my experiments, and file my reports!"

The human man sat on the edge of the truck, back to her, facing the open world. 

"Peridot, it's okay." 

"Excuse me?"

Greg opened the other door to allow her room to sit beside him. Peridot didn't move.

"Rose and I talked a lot about fusion. I kind of understand how it works. It's.. okay to feel things, Peridot. It's okay to have feelings. You're not... Weak, for feeling things. For having emotions. Look at Steven. I know you don't really know him, but he's got a lot of heart. He wants to protect everyone. The night you came, he stayed behind to fight so he could protect the rest of us. All of us who live here. His feelings, that love, _carrying_ , it all makes him stronger. I'm just one guy. And I'm a human guy. And I'm a little out of shape. I'm one out of shape human guy who probably couldn't stop you from escaping. 

"But I do think Steven could have been right about you. I think you're going to go do what you were sent here to do, or you're just going to go hide in the dark, but I think you want Earth to survive. Part of you does. I don't rightly know why but I'm fine with not knowing." She could tell Greg was purposely avoiding bringing up her gem, more than he already had, which had thankfully stopped glowing. "But if you're going to run out into the dark, the gems are going to find you. I don't know that they'll show you mercy, and I don't know that they'll believe what I've told them. But I was wrong about Lapis Lazuli. I was wrong about you. To be honest, I was even wrong about Rose. Humans and gems aren't too different. Our... knowledge and ideas about the other are just founded on the few that we've met or seen."

Greg stood, stroking his beard for a moment.

"But if you rise against Earth, humans will rise against you too. The same thing that makes Steven strong makes us strong too." 

Peridot gradually scooted herself to the edge of the van, looking up at the human. Greg was the opposite of every gem she'd known; he was primarily truthful, compassionate, kind, understanding... most of all, forgiving. Peridot looked at the ground, finding herself distracted by the pale lines on Greg's feet where the straps of his sandals usually rested.

"...are all the humans of Earth like you?"

"No, there are bad ones. We've got liars and cheats and killers. We've got monsters that aren't gems, monsters that most of us would wish _were_ gems so they could be hidden away wherever the Gems put them once they've defeated them. But a lot of us are good. Maybe half. Maybe a little less."

Peridot sat in silence, letting Greg relax a moment. She had no choice but to return to her experiments. She'd been sending the reports. The Hand was still in the sky. They knew she was alive on Earth. 

"I'm sorry, Greg." She said softly. 

"Peri," His hand found her shoulder again. "You can do terrible things. We've all done terrible things. But you can always try to undo them. You can always try to make things right."

"I am going to make things right." She said as she rose, lightly grabbing his wrist but removing it from her shoulder. "But not by you or the gems."


	17. The Long Road Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so, so much for just sitting around in the dark while I worked on finishing this. I went through a lot of personal stuff with my job, and a lot of stuff after that. It's not very long and I'm not bringing you the ending I first had in mind for this fic, but hopefully it'll be one you like anyway.
> 
> Thank you, everyone, for your support and patience.

Sneaking around has been a wonderful idea, and it seemed all the warp pads on Earth were still active - including the one that lead to the pox-marked hollow cavern.

At first, she had arrived at the Kindergarten unsure of what to do. 

She stood there, in front of dismantled monitors and broken equipment, and was less sure. She knew what she was _meant_ to do, but it the thought left a bitter taste in her mouth now. The fact that she felt like protecting the Earth infuriated her. Greg Universe was one human. He had said so himself, humans weren't all good. There were _terrible_ humans. And even good humans.... were they worth the sacrifice of the Kindergarten and the Cluster? Were they worth the sacrifice of never being able to go home?

At some point, Rose Quartz had thought so. 

Deactivated drills penetrated the sky, ominous and dark, a reminder of early colonization. Jasper had been born from similar machines. And so at Rose Quartz. The small green gem brushed her fingers over the wall, sensors indicating that they were large calcium deposits. She'd been mass produced, she'd never even been off planet until she investigated the Earth warp. If she had been Homeworld, and she had known what would happen if she sent her away, she wasn't sure that she would have allowed herself off planet either. 

On Homeworld, Kindergartens had always held a strange beauty. But here on Earth, abandoned, decaying.... it was more like a mass grave. Peridot counted holes with each step she took. Ten, twenty, forty.... How many gems born on Earth had died there? How many of _them_ never made it off planet? How many joined Rose Quartz to spare their own lives? Part of her mourned that she would never know; mourned for the gems who would be lost forever, mourned for the gems who were cracked and chipped in Earth's own soil, gone. Just gone. Casualties of a war that they were born into and recruited for.

Finding her way to the control room proved difficult when all the holes and machinery looked the same, but when she did, she had forgotten what would await her. 

Gem technology, while old, would have been welcome at her hands. Unfortunately, her first encounter with Steven had been in this very room. Shards of glass and computer decorated the floor as a reminder to the mindless fury of the Gems. Steven would have been easily eliminated if they hadn't shown up. Steven was... was just a child. Unfathomably young, it would seem. Humans had short lifespans and for Greg to so fluently and elegantly remember Rose Quartz, and to have survived.. 

She was unsure that she could crush the boy now even if he were presented to her without defenses. 

Peridot stood alone in the dark, hand on the console that would have once lit under the Kindergarten screens. She was no different. Broken down by the Crystal Gems - traitors to their Homeworld, fighting for planet that was a meaningless micro-chasm of the universe. 

And reluctantly, her new home. 

Homeworld wouldn't come for her. An entire hand waited in the sky, and she'd go unanswered, just as Lapis Lazuli had. The Crystal Gems would come for her, sooner or later, but not as comrades. They would come with weapons and imprison her, she was sure. Greg Universe's words were unlikely to carry enough weight to spare her that gratuity.

Sparks danced beneath her hand on the console. Like herself, it wanted to continue to work. It wanted to serve it's purpose. It wanted to do it's job.

But just like the console, Peridot was defeated. Just like the console, Peridot was broken. 

The gem sank, hand still firm on the console, pressing her gem to the stone as she shifted to her knees. 

Earth was a prison. 

Earth was home now. 

Earth would be fought for. 

It was the right thing to do.


End file.
